(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward oral hygiene, and in particular, the articles and methods of how a toothbrush is utilized.
(2) Description of Related Art
Others have worked in the field of toothbrush holders. In general, the designs are targeted around holding a toothbrush for convenient storage, allowing it to air dry, and separating individual toothbrushes for improved sanitation. Common additional conveniences for a toothbrush holder include adding a space for a drinking cup and storing a tube of toothpaste.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. D171,001 shows a toothbrush holder with slots for vertically oriented toothbrushes around the perimeter of a holder for a drinking cup. This kind of design, and similar vertical toothbrush holding designs, has good use for toothbrush storage, but does not address certain issues with how toothbrushes are used in some cases.
When a child uses a toothbrush, the application of the toothpaste onto the toothbrush presents certain challenges. Children have less fine motor control and it can be difficult to apply the toothpaste in one hand and hold the toothbrush in the other. A child will frequently attempt to utilize both hands in squeezing and holding the toothpaste, and set the toothbrush on the sink perimeter or sink counter. When attempting to apply the toothpaste, the toothbrush will move. If the child sets the toothbrush on the perimeter of the sink, the toothbrush has a likelihood of falling into the sink or on the floor. When this happens, the toothbrush is exposed to bacteria, and the sanitary handling of the toothbrush is compromised. There is a need to re-clean and sanitize the toothbrush before use.
Similarly, some adults are permanently or temporarily incapacitated and only have a single hand available for brushing their teeth. There is no practical way to manually squeeze a toothpaste tube and hold the toothbrush in a way that the toothpaste can be applied. Intuitive methods of applying toothpaste in this situation involve setting the toothbrush on the sink counter and squeezing the toothpaste onto the toothbrush. Again, this method does not provide for sanitary handling of the toothbrush.
These problems can be somewhat addressed by providing an automated toothpaste dispenser that only requires the use of one hand. For example, a dispenser as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,165, can be utilized to provide a predetermined amount of toothpaste when a sensor determines that a toothbrush is in place to receive the toothpaste. Such solutions are overly complicated, relatively expensive, and require electric power from a wall outlet or battery. Additionally, such solutions do not address the need to provide a convenient method to clean the dispenser. Convenience is important when traveling to hotels for business travel, personal travel, or children sleep overs. A toothbrush holder that is easy to pack and take along is a better solution when compared to using a toothpaste dispenser.
Other toothbrush holders include US 20100051565 which discloses a method of holding one or more toothbrushes horizontally. However, the overall stability of this design is questionable considering the height at which the toothbrushes are held, it is over large for the purpose, and is less appealing to clean due to its size.
Another consideration is encouraging children in oral hygiene. It is desirable that a toothbrush holder includes artwork designs that encourage sanitary use of a toothbrush. Also, it is desirable to utilize separate holders between children in the same family.
Importantly, children with special needs such as Down Syndrome, Autism or without an upper limb have more challenges and delays in motor skills that make holding a toothbrush steady to apply toothpaste very difficult. Adults, Senior Citizens that have onset disabilities or disease such as Parkinson's, Arthritis, Stroke or Amputation have struggles that are getting worse and therefore need a solution for holding their toothbrush stable for application of toothpaste.
There is a need in the art for a simplified method of stabilizing a toothbrush for the application of toothpaste by a child or an adult that only utilizes a single hand. Preferably, the solution is easy and intuitive to use, provides for a stabilized toothbrush in the horizontal orientation, and provides for a way to clean and sanitize any toothbrush stabilizing device.